Freemasons

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Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is considered the oldest existing secular fraternal organisation, with documents and traditions dating back to the 14th century. One of the primary purposes of Freemasonry is charity. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of three main recognition groups: Regular Freemasonry, which is the largest body and follows the traditional practices of Freemasonry, insist that a "volume of sacred law", such as the Bible, the Quran, or other religious scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a supreme being, that no women be admitted, and that discussion of religion or politics does not take place within the lodge; Liberal or Continental Freemasonry, which is globally much smaller in size and consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions; and Women’s and Mixed-Gender Freemasonry (Co-Freemasonry), which includes organizations that either admit women exclusively (such as the Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons in the UK) or accept both men and women (such as Le Droit Humain). These lodges are not officially recognized by Regular Freemasonry but operate independently, often deviating from the traditional practices of Freemasonry, but following similar Masonic rules, regulations, rituals and traditions (sometimes sharing buildings, such as Freemasons' Hall in London). The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. Lodges are usually supervised at the regional level by a Grand Lodge (or, sometimes, a Grand Orient). There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each grand lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.